Chapter 214 CHAPTER 214
The border of the witch village was quiet, but it was not the kind of quiet that brought peace.
It was the kind that waited.
The trees stood tall and unmoving, their shadows stretching across the narrow path that led into the heart of the forest. The air itself felt heavier here, touched by something unseen, something that did not belong to the ordinary world.
Seraphine stood near the edge of the boundary, her figure still, her presence commanding even in silence.
She had been waiting for days. Each morning, Seraphine would make her way to the border, standing at the edge of the forest where shadows stretched long and silence lingered, expecting to see a figure emerge from the trees.
Each evening, she returned alone, her patience thinning with every passing hour that yielded nothing. The one she had sent had not come back, and with each failed day, irritation curled tighter within her, sharp and restless.
By the time the faint sound of footsteps finally reached her—light, careful, and unmistakably late—her agitation had already settled deep, simmering just beneath the surface.
Seraphine did not turn immediately. She did not need to. She already knew who it was.
“You kept me waiting,” she said, her voice calm, but edged with something sharper beneath it.
The young witch stepped into view, her posture tense, her breathing slightly uneven as though she had come in a hurry, but not fast enough.
“I….” she started, then stopped, gathering herself. “I couldn’t come sooner.”
Seraphine turned then, slowly, her gaze settling on her.
There was no warmth in it.
“Couldn’t?” she repeated softly.
The young witch lowered her eyes briefly, then forced herself to meet Seraphine’s gaze.
“The plan failed,” she said.
The words hung between them.
Seraphine’s expression did not change.
“Explain.”
The young witch swallowed, her fingers tightening slightly at her sides.
“The Princess… Lisa,” she said. “She was protected. There is a necklace she wears. I didn’t know what it was at first, but when I tried to reach her, it reacted. It created a barrier around her. I couldn’t get through it.”
Seraphine’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“A protective artifact,” she murmured.
“Yes,” the young witch said quickly. “And it’s strong. I tried more than once, but every time I got close, it pushed me back. It burned.”
Seraphine took a step closer.
“That’s disappointing.” she said.
“I almost got caught,” the young witch defended herself. “There were guards nearby, and the moment the necklace reacted, it drew attention. I had to leave before I was exposed.”
Seraphine studied her for a moment, her silence pressing heavily into the space between them.
“And yet,” she said slowly, “you did not come to report this to me.”
The young witch hesitated.
“Lunaris is being watched closely,” she said. “More than before. After what happened, they’ve tightened everything. I couldn’t risk leaving too soon. It would have raised suspicion.”
Seraphine’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“The teacher - Blackwood,” she said. “What of her?”
The young witch’s shoulders tensed.
“She… she was taken into custody,” she said. “But her family…”
She paused.
Seraphine’s voice dropped slightly.
“What about them?”
“They were rescued,” the young witch said quietly. “Commander Liam kept it quiet. He doesn’t want anyone to know. I’m not sure what he is planning.”
For the first time, something shifted in Seraphine’s expression.
Displeasure.
“Rescued?” she repeated.
The word carried weight.
“You allowed them to be rescued?” There was a sharp edge to her voice.
The young witch’s eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t know they had found them. I…”
“That should have been the first thing you corrected after the mission failed,” Seraphine said, her voice still calm, but now colder. “You eliminate witnesses. You clean your mistakes before they have the chance to expose you.”
The young witch swallowed, her voice dropping.
“I thought they were safe where I left them. And keeping them there guaranteed Blackwood’s silence.”
Seraphine’s gaze hardened.
“In Silverpine?” she asked.
The young witch nodded, though her confidence wavered.
“It was the perfect place,” she said quickly. “No one goes near that house. Not after what happened with Sarah. The entire area is avoided. People think something might still be there - some lingering magic, some curse. I masked their scent completely. I made sure no one could track them.”
Her voice faltered slightly.
“I don’t know how Liam found them.”
Seraphine took another step closer, her presence pressing in.
“I told you not to underestimate them,” she said.
“I didn’t,” the young witch replied quickly, though there was hesitation in her tone. “I was careful. I…”
“Of course you did,” Seraphine interrupted.
The words were not loud.
But they cut clean.
“If you hadn’t,” she continued, her gaze unwavering, “we would not be standing here discussing your failure.”
The young witch fell silent.
The weight of those words settled heavily on her shoulders.
“You raised my expectations,” Seraphine went on, her voice quieter now, but no less sharp. “You told me you were better than Sarah. That you could do what she couldn’t.”
The young witch’s fingers curled slightly into her palms.
“And yet,” Seraphine added, “here we are.”
She stepped back slightly, her gaze still fixed on her.
“At least Sarah knew how to end things cleanly.” she said.
The comparison landed harder than anything else.
The young witch’s eyes lowered, her chest tightening as something inside her cracked—not loudly, not visibly, but deeply.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
Seraphine did not respond.
The silence stretched.
Then, finally...
“Go back,” Seraphine said.
The young witch looked up.
“Keep your head down,” Seraphine continued. “Do nothing until I tell you otherwise. You’ve made enough mistakes for now.”
The young witch nodded quickly. “Yes.”
She turned to leave, her steps slower now, heavier.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated softly.
But Seraphine had already turned away.
She was walking back toward the witch village, her figure disappearing gradually into the shadows between the trees.
The young witch stood there for a moment longer, watching her go, the words echoing in her mind.
Better than Sarah.
The thought twisted painfully now.
Her hands clenched slightly at her sides, not in defiance, but in something quieter. Something more determined.
She had failed.
But not again.
Not next time.
Behind her, the forest remained still.
Ahead of her, the path back to Lunaris waited.
And somewhere beyond it…
The game was far from over.